12] VEGETATIONAL TYPES OF TEMPERATE LANDS 355 



in massive aerial tissues in the cases of Aloes, Agaves, and Cactus- 

 like or other succulents. Particularly characteristic are a host of 

 geophvtes with underground food-stores in bulbs, tubers, etc., ready 

 to develop with the rains. The examples mentioned above in five 

 diiferent continents may be considered briefly. 



1 . The thin sclerophyllous woodlands of the Mediterranean and 

 southern Black Sea regions. The chief dominants include evergreen 

 Oaks such as the Cork Oak {Ouercus suber) and Holm Oak (O. ilex), 

 and various Pines such as the Aleppo Pine [Piniis halepensis) and 

 Stone Pine {P. pinea). However, most areas have been so disturbed 

 by felling and grazing that only sparsely scattered, low and gnarled 

 trees remain, the prevailing vegetation being a pale scrub on lime- 

 stone terrain, known as ' garigue ', and a denser and taller one on 

 siliceous soils, known as ' maquis '. This last is often 3 metres or 

 so in height and in various forms and densities covers vast areas, 

 being composed of a bewildering variety of shrubs including the 

 subdominants of the original woodlands — such as Cistuses {Cistus 

 spp.), Olive {Olea eiiropaea, extensively cultivated as a tree). Myrtle 

 {Myrtus communis), Rosemary {Rosmarinus officinalis). Lavender 

 {Lavandula latifolia), and tall Heaths {Erica spp.). Some Palms 

 and large Cactus-like succulent Euphorbias may also occur. 

 Epiphytes are generally absent and climbers few, but any open 

 ground tends to support numerous bulbous or tuberous Mono- 

 cotyledons, xerophilous Grasses, dicotyledonous herbs, and short- 

 lived spring annuals in great variety. Fig. 103 shows a rocky area 

 in open sclerophyllous woodland, with patches of subdominant 

 mixed scrub of maquis and garigue sorts. East of the Mediter- 

 ranean this type thins out with decreasing precipitation, although 

 some semblance of it is still to be seen on the lower slopes of the 

 mountains of northern Iraq, so invoking the interior of Asia. 



2. The Cape region of South Africa of which it has been written : 

 ' There seems to be no doubt that [it] once possessed luxuriant 

 forests of the Mediterranean type, and that the same process of 

 destruction which gave origin to the European maquis largely also 

 transformed these forests into mere brushes ' (Hardy, The Geography 

 of Plants, p. 246). Now there remains chiefly a wealth of sclerophyl- 

 lous shrubs such as species of Protea and Leucadendron, with 

 numerous tall Heaths and other bushy perennials belonging to very 

 various families, and bulbous and tuberous subordinates. 



3. The sclerophyllous woodland and scrubby ' chaparral ' com- 

 munities of western California and some adjacent regions. Here 



